9 results for "Biography"

Harry S. Truman

Dallek, Robert
The plainspoken man from Missouri who never expected to be president yet rose to become one of the greatest leaders of the twentieth century In April 1945, after the death of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the presidency fell to a former haberdasher and clubhouse politician from Independence, Missouri. Many believed he would be overmatched by the job, but Harry S. Truman would surprise them all. Few chief executives have had so lasting an impact. Truman ushered America into the nuclear age, established the alliances and principles that would define the cold war and the national security state, started the nation on the road to civil rights, and won the most dramatic election of the twentieth century--his 1948 "whistlestop campaign" against Thomas E. Dewey. Robert Dallek, the bestselling biographer of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, shows how this unassuming yet supremely confident man rose to the occasion. Truman clashed with Southerners over civil rights, with organized labor over the right to strike, and with General Douglas MacArthur over the conduct of the Korean War. He personified Thomas Jefferson's observation that the presidency is a "splendid misery," but it was during his tenure that the United States truly came of age.
Thorndike Press 2008 307 pages

Life and laughing

McIntyre, Michael
Michael reveals all in this remarkably honest autobiography. His showbiz roots, his appalling attempts to attract the opposite sex and his fish-out-of-water move from public to state school and his astonishing journey from selling just one ticket at the Edinburgh Festival to selling half a million tickets on his last tour. Michael's story is riveting, poignant, romantic and above all very, very funny.
Paragon 2011 316 pages

My stroke of luck

Douglas, Kirk
In this heartfelt, passionate and inspiring account, Kirk Douglas describes in powerful detail the incident that changed his life. He explains the fear he felt following his stroke, and the depression that took him to the brink of suicide. But a mixture of love, support and sheer determination pulled him through. Encouraged by the stories of Christoper Reeve and Stephen Hawking, Kirk, one of the great screen actors, had to learn how to speak all over again. When he recovered to receive an Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement, it made all the hard work worthwhile.
Magna Large Print Books 2002 171 pages

Moguls, monsters and madmen: an uncensored life in show business

Avrich, Barry
A sharp and witty expose of show business and notorious characters Barry Avrich is a Montreal - born, self - made film producer/director, flamboyant advertising executive, and legendary biographer and connector of moguls and stars. For over three decades he has relentlessly produced films on some of the most notorious show - business titans and also found the time to market and promote feature films, concerts, and the biggest shows on Broadway. In his memoir, Moguls, Monsters and Madmen, Barry takes readers from his early days, shaping his brand as a creative adman with the infamous Garth Drabinsky and witnessing the genius of legendary Rolling Stones promoter Michael Cohl, to his acclaimed documentaries on Harvey Weinstein, Lew Wasserman, Bob Guccione, and many others. Go behind the scenes on his most provocative films - like The Last Mogul, Unauthorized, and Filthy Gorgeous - and follow Barry as he moves from the power rooms of Hollywood to the launches of incredible brands while hanging around with royalty, rogues, clients, and confidants. An extraordinary raconteur, Barry spares no one, least of all himself, as he details his extraordinary relationships and encounters with everyone from Frank Sinatra, Quincy Jones, and Vanity Fair columnist Dominick Dunne to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards."
Read How You Want 2016-05 568 pages

Slowing down

Melly, George
George Melly is nudging 80. He is still swinging and singing, fly-fishing, flirting, and for now just playing at senility. But he walks very slowly these days. He's losing control over his bladder, and his bowels. He no longer, being quite deaf, enjoys noisy parties. He's been seriously ill once, and not quite well often. And he's constantly being probed and tinkered with, at St Mary's Hospital: like an old car in and out of the garage. Sex has walked out on him, but Irish Whiskey, in only slightly diminished quantities, remains a good friend. This remarkably cheerful book is his diary of it all. A darkly funny, frank, and larger-than-life account about how he feels to be growing old and irresistibly slowing down.
Chivers 2007 263 pages